Tactics Ogre 'Reborn' On PSP

Square Enix on Thursday said it will release in North America a PSP remake of the well-regarded strategy RPG Tactics Ogre, developed by key members of the team that created the 1990s classic. The new PSP version of Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together -- the full title of the original game (pictured) -- is what Square Enix calls a rebirth of the Super NES original (Tactics Ogre later appeared on PlayStation and Saturn). The game's developers said the remake is based on the idea of "how Tactics Ogre would be if it was developed and played now." Key members of the original Tactics Ogre team are working on the remake. Hiroshi Minagawa will be directing, Akihiko Yoshida is doing character design, Yasumi Matsuno is working on game design and Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata are composing music for the title. Quest developed the original game, and later the primary team members departed to join Square Enix, where they worked on Final Fantasy Tactics. Square later acquired Quest in 2002. Members of the Tactics Ogre development team have also worked on games including Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy XII. The Ogre Saga also includes Tactics Ogre predecessor Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen for SNES from 1993, 2000's Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Calibur and handheld iterations of the series. The PSP "reinvention" will have updated visuals with 3D maps, a "re-arranged soundtrack by the original composers" and new gameplay mechanics, some of which Square Enix said would add to the game's replay value. While Square Enix confirmed a North American release, the company has yet to nail down a specific date.